


Hold Me Through The Dark

by Raddd (RaddRebel)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Anbu Yamato | Tenzou, Angst, Depression, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Memorial Day, Mental Breakdown, OT3, Original Character Death(s), hunter!Iruka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-02-18 16:32:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaddRebel/pseuds/Raddd
Summary: Kakashi and Tenzou have been there for each other through most of their Anbu career, and they have inevitably become something more than just comrades. On a fateful mission that brings them together with a legendary Hunter Anbu, they find themselves in an interesting situation that will change their lives forever.





	1. And Then There Were Three

Kakashi was one of the youngest to join the ranks of Anbu when he did, and due to his abilities and prowess, he had stayed in almost the longest out of anyone, despite the break he had taken when Minato had ordered him out. When Tenzou joined the organization, Kakashi had immediately taken the younger man under his wing. They were like brothers, and after many long missions together, had become something… more than that. Tenzou relied on his senior, listened to most advice Kakashi gave, and respected him the most out of anyone. They took many missions together, had each other’s backs, and had bled into each other’s wounds more times than could be counted.

Tenzou didn’t really know how to be a person. He needed Kakashi’s guidance, and slowly grew more accustomed to what it was like to actually let yourself feel emotions. To let yourself care for another person, or thing, besides a mark or a mission objective. After the missions were accomplished, and they were not frantically clinging to life from wounds sustained, they spent many hours together. Taking a bit more time than needed to return to the village and their duties. Many nights, they became lost in each other. They found reasons to live through the most gruesome things, from the light in each other’s eyes.

After a handful of years working together, they took a fateful mission with another wing of Anbu they didn’t normally find themselves working with. They had only heard rumors of the hunter nin corps, and because Konoha had recovered relatively well from the nine tails attack, not many ninja had gone rogue over the years. The regular Anbu were kept separate from the hunter nin, because the organization thought it would be bad to let the ninja who might defect, mingle with those tasked to return them, alive or otherwise. It minimized the risks of feelings for comrades getting in the way.

“So, have you ever seen a Hunter?” Tenzou asked, carding his fingers through silver locks, as the copy nin rested his head above his beating heart. Kakashi shook his head, and blinked his eye open to look up at his lover. His hitai-ate had been gently placed on a table in the room they were sharing sometime before their activities had begun, so his other eye was closed to conserve chakra.

“No, I wasn’t really sure if they even existed. And who knows, maybe they really only exist for this mission. Spoken into existence by everyone who whispers about them in the dark.” The silver haired man shifted on Tenzou’s chest, lifting his hand up to stroke at the others cheek, and then gently tug at a lock of the others chestnut hair. “Are you really that worried? Or is your body tense under me for another reason?”

Tenzou watched as his senpai's scarred lips tilted up smugly, and rolled his eyes, even as his cheeks became pink with blood. He shook his head and swatted a bit at Kakashi’s hand that was teasing his hair. “I’m just nervous to work with someone we don’t know, and probably won’t ever know. Or possibly do know, and won’t ever know that we do know them.” He talked in circles, but Kakashi could follow, and it made him put on a more genuine smile for the younger man. He patted his cheek and laid his head back down, rubbing his own cheek on the other anbu’s bare chest.

“Don’t worry too much. I will watch your back, and you will watch mine, just like we always do. And who knows, maybe we will know immediately who this Hunter really is. And maybe we will be friends.” He let himself sink into the peace that the other man’s scent brought him, and began to doze off a bit. “But if not, I will take care of things. Now, get some sleep, I want to get there early so that we can get the first look.”

They thought they arrived before the Hunter did, but they were sorely mistaken. They waited a good ten minutes passed the meeting time before they noticed something was off. Before either Anbu could react, the Hunter melted out of the wall that Kakashi had been leaning against; he had apparently been there the whole time, observing them. In contrast to the Anbu masks that normally depicted a certain animal, the Hunter nin had a plain white mask, the only color being 3 black dots in the center of its forehead. After it became clear that the Hunter was not going to speak, they set out for their mission.

The target for their mission was not a rogue ninja, but a missing Uchiha, whose eyes needed to be returned, if not along with the whole body. It was unclear if the ninja was dead or alive, but either way, Konoha could not afford losing one of their weapons that could eventually be used against them. Kakashi was such an obvious example of the Sharingan being successfully transplanted, that the missing nin was a high priority. The Hunter stuck mostly to hand signs, and they ran for much longer than Kakashi would have pushed them on a normal mission. When he and Tenzou were on the verge of popping soldier pills to keep up, the Hunter stopped.

“We will stop here for a few hours of rest. I will take first watch.” Both anbu were startled to hear actual words come from the Hunter, and were stunned into silence for a few moments. His voice hadn’t sounded winded at all, and Kakashi was only partially surprised by that, because the voice that emanated from the other man had been vaguely familiar. The Hunter turned his back to them, and hopped up into a tree to take his watch. Tenzou swung his head around to look at his senior and gesture questioningly. The copy nin found himself shrugging and flopping down against a tree to rummage for food from his supplies.

“He had a nice voice.” Tenzou ventured to say, sitting down more gracefully next to him, and stealing a ration bar from Kakashi’s gloved hand. Kakashi sent a muted glare to the other and pulled out another bar, pushing his Anbu mask to the side and pulling his cloth mask down to his chin to eat. Tenzou grinned under his own mask, revealing his white teeth as he pushed his own mask over a bit to munch on the bar.

“His voice was alright. And I’m pretty sure I’ve heard it before. But it’s pretty hard to make a guess at who he is. There are a lot of ninja who have longish brown hair. It is really unfair how few have silver hair like mine.” Kakashi finished off his bar and brushed his hands off. Tenzou contemplated what the other said, and was caught off guard when Kakashi leaned over to lick a crumb off of his cheek, and then grabbed his head to give him a heated kiss. His eyes were glazed and almost shut by the time Kakashi moved back and fixed both of their masks back into place.

“I’m gona catch some shut eye. And if all it takes for you to get a crush on someone is hearing their voice, I’d be careful if our Hunter friend does anything more than breathe around you, love.” Kakashi shifted his body to lay in a curled position on the ground next to Tenzou, and the brown haired man found himself blushing even harder. Was Kakashi jealous? He had only said the Hunter had a nice voice, did that indicate he liked the man he didn’t even know? Could Tenzou even like someone without having seen their face or learned their name.

“...I don’t have a crush, senpai!” He said belatedly, and only got a chuckle from the other laying next to him. Tenzou sighed and laid his head down in the grass next to his senior, shaking his head and closing his eyes. He felt a gentle hand smooth over his arm next to him, letting him know that Kakashi wasn’t actually upset about anything, and that he was there for him. That allowed Tenzou to relax enough to catch a couple of hours of sleep. 

Kakashi woke before Tenzou could, to take a watch while the Hunter took his break to eat and sleep. He wanted to let the younger man rest more, and he was also interested in getting some one on one time with the Hunter. “What should we call you, Hunter? I’m pretty sure there are more than one of you, and if we work together again, it would be nice to know what to refer to you as.” Kakashi spoke, leaning against the tree that the other had taken his watch in. The Hunter cocked his head a bit, before raising his hand, and tapping the three dots in the middle of his forehead.

“San-Sutoka. Or just San.” Kakashi’s eyebrows rose and he had to stop himself from questioning the title. San for three, and Sutoka, for stalker. So this ninja wasn’t just a Hunter, but was literally referred to as a stalker. That wasn’t creepy or terrifying at all. He found himself nodding, and crossing his arms over his chest. The Hunter nin seemed to be waiting for something more, and Kakashi grunted at that.

“Do you not have more questions? Normally your kind have a lot more questions.” San supplied after a moment, beginning to dig around his own pouches and pulling out a different type of ration bar than was provided for the Anbu. Kakashi watched as the other man pushed his mask up just enough to uncover his mouth, and began eating the bar. The Hunter had blinded himself to kakashi, in favor of not showing more of his face. But the copy ninja wasn’t foolish enough to believe the other man couldn’t still see him in some way.

“...alright, how long have you been a Hunter? And is it the only job you do?” He could see the other man’s mouth turn up in a bit of a smile, and he committed the tan skin of his chin and cheeks to memory. San swallowed the bite he was chewing and tapped his thigh with his other hand in what may be some sort of habit.

“I’ve been a Hunter since a year after the nine tails attack. The village can do a lot more with you, if you don’t have parents to say anything about it. And no, this is not my only job. You think these missions that are few and far between could sustain me as a ninja? My body would not stay strong enough to meet the demands of these missions.” Kakashi listened to the answers the other man so freely gave, and had to admit that being an orphan did make it a lot easier for the Anbu to take your life in its claws. He watched as San took another bite of his food and tilted his head back against the tree.

“Do you know who I am?” He asked the question, knowing it was almost impossible for anyone not to have heard of him. The Hunter answered him with a snort and a more pronounced laugh followed. Kakashi scowled and found himself pouting a little bit, his crossed arms tightening on each other.

“I haven’t witnessed you shove your chidori through someone’s chest yet, but I’m pretty sure I know exactly who you are. Have you ever actually fooled anyone, outside of a henge or a deliberate disguise? Even in your normal life, you don’t wear any sort of sigil for your clan, but everyone whispers your name.” The silver haired man blinked at that answer, not really expecting the other to confirm that they had actually seen him in public outside of their undercover work. He shifted on his feet, and straightened his body up, uncrossing his arms finally.

“If you know me, is it not fair that you give me a hint as to who you are then, San?” The Hunter straightened his body as well, slipping his mask back into place, and shrugging his shoulders a bit. He looked down at Tenzou and then sat back against the tree opposite of the sleeping man.

“The sandaime is planning to remove me from active duty as a Hunter. Maybe after that has happened, I’ll tell you who I am. But it’s really not that interesting. I am not a person who deserves a crush from the only living wood style user.” Kakashi knew that if Tenzou were awake right now, he would call the roots of every tree in this forest to drag him underground and bury him forever. He wondered if the Hunter had witnessed all of their activities, and knew that the two Anbu were more than just comrades at this point. He also wondered how the other man knew what had been going on.

“Before you go stressing that genius brain of yours, I am a sensor. I could hear your words, and feel your interactions, like ripples on a lake. I wasn’t meaning to intrude, but it is a curse I live with on these missions. Now, if it’s alright with you, I’m going to get a little bit of rest before we go. Please wake us in an hour.” The brown haired hunter settled more comfortably against the tree, crossing his arms over his chest and letting his chin fall against his chest. Kakashi nodded his understanding and after a moment of watching the other man settle, jumped up into the tree and kept a lookout.

Tenzou took running point after they woke up, since he got the most rest out of everyone. Before setting off, each Anbu popped a soldier pill, anticipating the Hunter to want to continue the breakneck pace he had set for them on their first day. It took them half a day to arrive at the location their intelligence told them. Evidence of a difficult battle set the scene of their destination. It looked as if a normal Konoha genin team that contained the Uchiha had been attacked by an enemy force. San-Sutoka squatted down to examine the burnt remains of multiple bodies, that had clearly taken an Uchiha Fire jutsu. And on the other side of the battle field, Tenzou located the four bodies of the missing Konoha squad. 

“Senpai, they’re all here...and they’re all dead.” Tenzou said, a coldness in his voice that Kakashi knew every Anbu used to conceal their feelings about a particularly painful event. The copy nin walked past the piles of burnt enemy bodies and within eyesight of the dead genin and their jonin. One genin had been completely relieved of his head, the jonin had a singed hole in her chest that got bigger on the other side. Clearly they had protected their healer until the very end, because his body was slumped over the gutted body of the presumed Uchiha, his throat slit. Said Uchiha looked as if she had over used her Sharingan, tracks of blood now dried down her face like macabre tears.

Kakashi felt, more than heard the Hunter nin approach from behind him. He could feel his own skin crawl and his blood curdle in his veins at the death of these children, and how similar the female jonins mortal injury was to the destruction his chidori always wrought. He and Tenzou could do nothing but watch as San waited a beat, and then began his work. They stood witness as San said short ceremonial prayers over each Konoha nin, and were startled to watch as the Hunter pushed up his mask just enough to reveal his lips, and kissed each of the dead on the forehead. After he had cleaned the bodies up as much as possible in their field conditions, he sealed them each inside of his retrieval scroll.

“...I also sealed the enemy nin and any evidence I could find, to bring back to the Sandaime. We will return to Konoha, and once you reach the gates, our mission together will be over. Thank you Anbu-San for accompanying me on this terrible, most important task.” The Hunter stood from where he knelt on the ground, pulled his mask back into place and then bowed one by one to both the Anbu. Kakashi and Tenzou were both overwhelmed by how suddenly formal San was being, but they found themselves bowing back, and not wanting to speak in reverence of the dead. 

This time, San took point, and pushed them all the way into the night. He always felt a gnawing urgency enter his blood when he carried the dead. And it only got worse when he carried dead children. The genin shouldn’t have died. He knew their jonin Sensei, and she didn’t deserve to die the way she had either. The Hunter found himself on the brink of tears as they ran, wanting to bury himself alongside the dead he carried. The burden was becoming too great. That was why this was to be his last mission. And the entire reason he had companions on this mission. Sarutobi was extremely worried that San-Sutoka would not return from this mission. 

“...-an...San!” The brown haired hunter skidded to a stop and turned his head, suddenly aware that the Anbu he had been leading, had been trying to get his attention for sometime now. The copy nin was a foot away from him now, panting, with a shaky hand outstretched ready to grab his shoulder if he hadn’t turned around. Stopping so suddenly, had the Hunter teetering on his feet and almost crashing to the ground, adrenaline having made his head dizzy.

“What is it Anbu-San?” He grit out, wary of the hand reaching for him, and then noticing Tenzou behind the other man, looking as if he was about to keel over and vomit soldier pills. He wasn’t used to working with others. And he was in a different caliber all on his own when it came to getting to and from missions. Most days he hardly even stopped. San tensed when the silver haired man took a step forward and pushed his mask to the side, revealing deep concern on his face.

“San, your mask is dripping.” The statement made no sense, and yet San found himself moving his hands up to touch the bottom of his mask. It was wet indeed. He turned his back to kakashi and shoved his mask aside desperately, finally realizing that his eyes were leaking beyond his control. He shook his head and rubbed at them harshly, dampening his gloves.

“Fuck! Oh fuck!” San could feel his whole body shaking. He wasn’t okay, nothing was okay. He was carrying one of his childhood friends bodies home, a hole in her chest wide enough to fit both of his fists and he could still smell the blood of the children. He wasn’t fit for this job anymore. He didn’t want to endure alone anymore. He flinched hard when a strong hand gripped his shoulder, and pulled him back into a firm chest.

“Breathe. You have to breathe or you’ll pass out.” Kakashi’s mouth was by his ear. He could feel the strong thump of the other ninjas heart against his back. He wanted to fight the others contact so badly. He wanted to thrash and deny that he was this weak. That he couldn’t finish his final mission alone. But his body was not on his side. He missed the warmth of a living body. He missed having someone that knew who he was, al that he was. But most of all he wanted someone to know that he wasn’t really San-Sutoka, Hunter number three of Konoha. He pushed his hands up into his hair ripped his mask off, flinging it into the dirt.

“I-Iruka. P-please don’t call me San anymore. I want San to die. Fuck I want him to die.” Kakashi tensed behind him and turned his head over to Tenzou, looking more worried than he had before. The wood style user had moved his mask to the side and was even more wide eyed than his senpai. He crept over, being careful not to startle the Hunter, who was clearly having a breakdown. Each Anbu had extensive experience in helping out their comrades through these mind breaking situations. And it was very evident that Iruka’s had been a long time coming.

Tenzou made his way around to the front of the Hunter, stopping a few feet away, and locking eyes with red rimmed chocolate, grief filled ones. The tears seemed infinite as they fell down Iruka’s scarred face, and Tenzou found himself lifting both of his gloved hands to wipe away the tears that had already fallen. He brushed his fingers over the edges of the other man’s scar, and tried to let his own facial expression convey his feelings back to Iruka. They knew what he had been through, many, many times. And they had been there to hold each other, and their comrades through it.

“...Can we hold you, Iruka?” He asked gently, one of his hands slipping back to brush away the Hunters sweaty hair from sticking to his brow. Iruka’s eyes followed his hand a bit and then he leaned into the others touch, he had stopped letting his mind rule him. They knew his identity, this was his last mission, and if he was going to get in trouble, he really couldn’t give a damn. Tenzou smiled sadly, and slid his arms around Iruka’s waist, while Kakashi’s gloved hands moved up his chest and held him under his arms. It was a little awkward, but at the same time, he felt warm and held together by the both of them.

The wood style user had the scent of so many types of trees, cedar and oak being the most prominent, and he could smell an underlayer of a wood fire. Kakashi on the other hand, smelled of sweat and earth, and maybe a little bit of a metallic scent, that you would smell during a lightning storm. Together, the scents mingled and made a heady concoction that had Iruka wanting to snuggle his face in deeply between them, and sleep for days. 

He knew of the nature of their relationship, simply by being too close to them while his sensing abilities were active. At the time of his watch, he could feel their chakra pressed against each other, in a very intimate way. And he could hear Tenzou’s heart beating like a drum against his rib cage. He could feel a tug in his own heart. He wanted what they had. He wanted to be held together by them, and to not have to think of anything or anyone else.

“I think we should rest here for the night...Tenz, would you make a shelter for us? And a nice comfy bed to sleep in? I’ll call the pack to keep watch for us. I think we all need some much needed TLC and sleep.” Kakashi said after a chunk of time had passed, and the sky had opened up to start drenching them with its own cold tears. Tenzou nodded his consent, and squeezed the Hunter nin one last time before moving off to use his wood style to form a small, cozy cabin, that would be easily defendable for them. While Tenzou worked on all of the construction, Kakashi turned Iruka’s body, and looked him in the eyes for the first time since he had revealed his identity.

“After we get you back, Hiruzen will retire San-Sutoka. And Iruka will be all that is left.” He moved one of his hands up to cup the ninja’s scarred face, and gently stroked over his soft cheek. “When that has happened, Tenzou and I will be there for you. We will have to go off on missions, but when we come back. You can call on either of us, at any time. Open your window, and one of us, or both might come tumbling through. To either hold you, or beg you to hold us.” Kakashi could feel his own facial scar itching, as it did sometimes when it rained, even after it had healed.

“If you want us, that is.” He finished, searching the younger man’s brown eyes. He could see uncertainty, and pain, and a bone deep tiredness that only came from witnessing death and keeping it inside for so long. Hiruzen was right for retiring San, and he was pretty sure that it had been strategic that the hokage had sent Kakashi and Tenzou with Iruka on his last mission. The two Anbu were some of the oldest still left in the organization, others before them having either died, or retired. Yes, he was certain that Sarutobi had sent them for this purpose, Iruka was important to the hokage, and he had clearly done his duty to the village almost as long as Kakashi and Tenzou had.

Iruka sniffled and raised a shaky hand to rub at one of his eyes, and then swipe at his nose. There was nothing Anbu were embarrassed about in front of each other anymore, and Iruka was finally beginning to relax about having shown his weakness to the two other men. He glanced over to where Tenzou was standing, his hand holding the door of the cabin open for when they were all ready to enter. He studied the gentle smile on the other brown haired man’s face, and tried to muster a weak smile of his own.

“I think that I would really like that. If you two would have me, I would very much appreciate having someone to hold, and be held by when the nights get hard.” Iruka was surprised at how steady his voice was, and that he had just agreed to some sort of relationship with these two Anbu that he only barely knew in passing and through stories. But they knew who his other identity was, and that meant everything in the world to him. He was pretty sure that when he returned to his daily life, and that’s all he had, that he would go mad without having someone to talk to about his past.

“Let’s go inside, Iruka. And hold each other through the night then.” Kakashi answered back to him, pressing a gloved hand to the base of Iruka’s back, and ushering him towards the warm cabin. He passed him off to Tenzou and the wood style user slipped his warm hand into Iruka’s, pulling him towards a bed, near the fire in the small cabin. Kakashi summoned his pack of ninja dogs and directed them to stand guard and alert them to any threat that came too close. After the perimeter was set, the copy ninja came inside and joined the other two ninja who had already climbed into bed, tucked cozily into the blankets Tenzou had provided from a summoning scroll. You could guess that something like this had happened before.

Kakashi slid into bed, sandwiching Iruka between the two men who were already in love. They each had an arm around Iruka and Tenzou stroked the younger man’s hair back from his face. Kakashi kissed Iruka’s brow, and began to hum a song that his mother had sang to him when he was very young, before she died. Iruka’s feelings of grief and despair from earlier were beginning to drown in the feeling of being held, and the feeling of each man’s heart thumping against his own body, proof that they were all still alive. He somehow fell into one of the deepest sleeps he had experienced, since before his parents had perished in the nine tails attack.

Years later, after that fateful mission, three ninja sat at the bar of a ramen stall. All of them had been the teacher of Naruto Uzumaki at some point, but that was not the only bond they shared. Kakashi turned his head as the other two ate their ramen happily. His matching gray eyes took in the duo, and he found himself once again missing Obito’s Sharingan for the thousandth time. And it might be silly to an outsider, but what he missed most about having the Uchiha’s eye, was getting to record the loves of his life in their happiest state.

Tenzou noticed Kakashi’s gaze, and nudged Iruka between them, gesturing to their Hokage’s face. Iruka looked up, with a mouthful of ramen, and a noodle poking out of the corner of his mouth. He blushed at the grin that he clearly brought to Kakashi’s face, and quickly swallowed what was in his mouth. Tenzou’s eyes softened as he watched the exchange, and then found himself being drug by the neck into a group hug, Kakashi getting the same treatment. 

This was where they belonged. They had lived through the impossible, over and over again. And had always returned to the comfort of each other’s arms. Their hearts had begun to beat as one for many years now, and there was nothing that could keep them apart, even death. Fate had decided that for them, and they gladly embraced it.


	2. Protecting More Than Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Memorial Day in Konoha, and Kakashi finds himself standing in front of the stone again. He can feel himself beginning to breakdown, but he might be saved when familiar hands cover his eyes and pull him away from his Ghosts.

He found himself here once again. He visited here every day that he was in the village, unless he was stuck in the hospital. His hand reached out and hesitantly touched names etched into the obsidian. So many names, and the stone was so cold, reminiscent of how cold their bodies all were now. He wasn’t sure what he felt today. Today was the day everyone would come to pay their respects. But every day without his precious people, was Memorial Day for him. In his mind, he wasn’t trying to belittle the feeling of loss the other living around him felt.

But they were different. Most of them had allowed themselves to heal, and to somewhat move on. Their dead weren’t at the forefront of their minds every waking second. But it was more frequent that Kakashi saw flashes of his dead father, and teammates and Sensei and friends, than he saw the living standing in front of him. He could hear their voices sometimes, as if they were just standing over his shoulder. The obnoxious sound of Obito’s childish voice. The sweet lilt of Rin’s voice, scolding him when he got himself hurt. His Sensei’s gentle advice, and the grin you could always hear in his words. 

With his Sharingan, he could see them every day. Flashes of when they were happy, and when they were lying broken on the ground. He could relive the time they had together, over and over again, and that was probably one of the reasons he had not allowed himself to move on to properly like normal people would. He steadily wallowed in his grief every day, just barely keeping himself away from the edge, but still punishing himself.

His nails scratched against the Memorial stone, and he looked down to let a flower drop from his other hand onto the slab underneath the stone. If he brought a flower for every name on the stone, the stone would be buried for a mile, and no one would ever be able to find Kakashi in the mound. And he didn’t really think he deserved such a nice thing as to be buried in Memorial flowers. Sometimes he hoped he wouldn’t be remembered at all. If he wouldn’t be leaving his few precious people behind, the weary shinobi would pick a path, and just walk down it until he disappeared forever. 

The sun wasn’t up yet, he got here earlier today, intent on not having to maneuver around the flood of families and friends coming to honor their dead. He could see a peek of the sunrise as it slowly crawled it’s way over rocks and trees. He looked back to the names on the stone, and felt the beginning of a sting in his original gray eye. Alternately, his scarred borrowed eye ached behind his mask. He always wondered if the throbbing in the Sharingan was Obito trying to talk to him. And if the blood tears that slipped out, unbidden, were Obito’s tears and not Kakashi’s making at all.

His hand clenched against the cold stone in front of him, and he lowered his head. He wished he had a mission today. Something to take his heavy mind off of the loss he was feeling so deeply today. He was so deeply immersed in his own feelings, that he didn’t feel a presence suddenly show up behind him. He wasn’t aware until a pair of warm, tan hands slid around his eyes, and pulled his tensing body back. He felt a muscular chest behind him, and took in the scent of a familiar man. One of his few remaining precious people. Warm breath ghosted over his ear, and he clenched his one open eye closed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere today?” He grit out from under his blue mask. The hands covering his eyes were gentle, but he could feel the body they belonged to was tense and rigid. The silence stretched on, enough time without an answer, that Kakashi gave in to a tear sliding down his cheek, and catching on the hand darkening his vision. He hadn’t told anyone he was coming here, because the moment a warm, caring body was anywhere near his own on days like these, his eyes would not obey him. Traitorous tears would flow out, and eventually, he wouldn’t be able to breathe. 

While he tried to hold himself together, he could feel a shuddering intake of breath from the man behind him, and a gentle kiss being laid just under his ear. One hand stayed over his exposed eye, while the other slid down his face, tenderly over his nose, and covered mouth, and then down his gulping throat, continuing on to lay over his fluttering heart. Finally, finally, a voice broke through Kakashi’s quiet breakdown. “We know today is special, but I’m pretty sure one of us mentioned that you shouldn’t come here alone anymore. Or to at least tell us when you were going. So we can come get you when you’ve been with Ghosts too long.”

Iruka’s voice was always gentle, a calming anchor to hold onto, in the midst of Kakashi’s raging seas. His gloved hand finally pulled away from the memorial stone, and fumbled to grab Iruka’s over his heart. After a moment of simply holding onto each other, Kakashi took a deep breath, and allowed himself to be turned in the Chunin’s arms, and crushed against his firm chest. The fact that today was a holiday, meant that a lot of ninja had the day off, so Iruka was just dressed in his blue uniform shirt and pants, and his hair was down. Kakashi buried his covered nose in the others neck, letting the tickle of Iruka’s hair, and the smell of sea salt anchor him to the earth even more.

“Tenz was worried when we woke up without you. We both know what day it is, and that we all have different ways of coping with our losses, but we don’t want you to be alone today.” Iruka raised one of his hands to Kakashi’s silver head, and knocked on it gently, before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. “There’s a lot that goes on up here on good days, you don’t need to be left with nothing but your ghosts and demons on a heavy day like this.” Iruka’s lips stayed pressed against his skin, as he closed his chocolate brown eyes.

“So come home to us, please, Kashi?” Kakashi could hear pleading in the teacher’s voice, even with the strength that was always there. He finally opened his good eye and made eye contact with Iruka, seeing worry, sadness, but most of all so much love in the depths of them. He found himself nodding, and sniffing through his mask. Today was just beginning, it was going to be long, and if he was going to be in the arms of his lovers, he was going to be crying a lot. But he trusted them to take care of him, the best way they knew how. 

Their fingers tangled together, and Kakashi allowed himself to be led away, though he wasn’t really paying attention. In no time at all, Kakashi saw that they had made it back to the Hatake compound. They had been together for years, and three male shinobi didn’t exactly fit well in one barracks room. Kakashi’s family estate was the only logical option for the three of them. 

They had cleaned the place up, remodeled rooms, and cleaned the depression out of all the walls. The yard was alive with nin-kin, strone with dog toys. Iruka loved gardening, so plants were everywhere, and Tenzou knew Kakashi loved all of his little buildings he could make with his wood style, so there was a gazebo and multiple wooden fountains, and anything else Tenzou had found himself in the mood to make. Seeing all of it, somehow brought a smile to Kakashi’s face. It was a mashup of all of their personalities together, and proof of their love. He looked up, and saw Tenzou standing in their open door, drinking a cup of coffee. When the man noticed both of them approaching, he lowered the cup from his face and smiled. He sat his cup on a shelf by the door, and slowly opened his arms as they approached, beckoning for Kakashi to come get a hug.

Kakashi didn’t hesitate, and even picked up his pace a little bit. Tenzou knew, all of the gory details, Iruka knew most of it, but the wood style user had actually been there for some of it. He melted into the warm body, that eagerly pulled him in close, and made a small broken noise when Iruka settled in behind them. He was being held on both sides, blanketed by the scent of sea salt and rain, Tenzou’s scent of cedar and oak, along with many other trees he couldn’t be bothered to name right now. He knew he himself smelled of wet earth, and the metallic tang of lightning, if his dogs were to be believed. It was all so comforting, a welcome weight that settled on his shoulders and gathered warmth around his heart. He didn’t struggle when fingers pushed up his hitai-ate, and Tenzou’s gentle lips laid over Obito’s eye. 

Another hand moved to slowly tug his mask down his face, and Kakashi knew he was a mess under both scraps of fabric. The blood tears from Obito’s eyes had dried awkwardly on the cloth, and probably left crusty spots on his pale skin. But Tenzou was still kissing his eye, and was even slowly tracing down the scar that bisected his face, all the way down to his chapped lips. He could feel said lips trembling again, something in his chest both breaking, and mending all at once. Iruka’s gentle, but firm hand traced across his bare cheek, before his warm lips kissed Kakashi’s jaw.

“I’m glad you found him Ru, and I’m glad you came home to us, Kashi.” Tenzou pulled away from them a little, and settled his chestnut eyes on the jounin, trying to convey his love through his eyes. Kakashi swallowed roughly and nodded his head before melting into them, basically letting them hold up his weight. Iruka smiled against his face, before petting over his unruly silver hair, and then urging them a bit to go into the house.

“I’m making tea and sandwiches, while you two draw a bath in the bath house. We are relaxing today, and doing nothing but loving and comforting each other.” Kakashi listened to Iruka’s plan, knowing full well that the words were not a suggestion, but a full on order, just delivered in a gentle way. Tenzou nodded in affirmation, and out of nowhere, hoisted Kakashi into his arms like he was their bride, before walking them into the house.

“Today is a day of mourning, but also a day of celebrating what the people we lost, gave us. They gave us the time to find love, and they taught us lessons before they had to leave us. They sacrificed themselves, and someday, we may join them in the same manner.” Iruka followed the other two into the house, voicing his thoughts as they walked towards the kitchen. He stopped by the kitchen counter and reached out with both hands to pet Tenzou and Kakashi’s faces at the same time, something slipping into his eyes. The two of them recognized it as a look Iruka had many times, following his retirement from the Hunter nin corps.

“But we haven’t joined them yet, and that means we have to live for them. Live to remember them, and to still love them, and not let their sacrifices go to waste.” He rubbed his fingers over Kakashi’s facial scar, up until it brushed over Obito’s hidden eye. “They wouldn’t want us to wallow in misery every day of our lives, until we join them again. They are waiting on the other side, to hear about our own stories, and wanting to see our smiling faces.” Iruka smiled, first looking at Kakashi, practically seeing into his weeping soul, and doing his best to wrap it up in bandages. He leaned forward to kiss Kakashi’s lips tenderly, before pulling back to give Tenzou a kiss as well. 

“Now go start that bath, while I get the tea and snacks. So we can take care of each other today.” The teacher nin ordered, patting Tenzou on the rear and walking further into the kitchen. The two jounin watched their chunin lover leave them, both of them most definitely admiring the curve of his backside as he sauntered away. Kakashi looked up at Tenzou and shrugged his shoulders. Tenzou sighed at the view before turning to take them to the bath house to obey the man they both bowed down to.

“I’m glad we have him, to take care of us on days like this. And I’m really glad he found you. He kind of wouldn’t let me leave to come look for you, because he was also worried that I would go missing as well.” Tenzou murmured near Kakashi’s ear as he walked, his fingers lightly massaging the elder ninja’s legs and back. Kakashi knew he wasn’t too heavy for his Kouhai, he was the slimmer out of the three of them, but he was still a bit embarrassed to be carried around like a princess. Despite that, he wrapped his arms around Tenzou’s neck and held him close, like he didn’t ever want to lose him. 

“Thank you for worrying about me. I’m glad he brought me home too. None of them would want me to be alone on this day.” Kakashi pressed his forehead to Tenzou’s jaw and let his eye close. He relaxed into the wood style users arms, and let his mind go blank for a moment, taking in all the smells and feelings that were the three of them together. The house they shared that had once been full of pain, was filled to the brim with love, overflowing and suffocating the broken parts in Kakashi’s chest.

When they got to the bathhouse, Tenzou ran a large bath for them like Iruka had ordered, and he let Kakashi gather big, fluffy towels for them to wrap up into whenever they decided to get out, if they ever actually wanted to. The smell of the sweet tea Iruka was fond of, wafted to them after a while, which spurred the two men into stripping off their clothes and easing themselves into the hot water. Soon Iruka joined them, with a tray full of steaming tea, and the best sandwiches the others had ever tasted. The smile on Iruka’s face was full of love, and tenderness, and carried them throughout the day. 

They ate the snacks, sipped their tea, and let the water of the bath relax all of their sore bodies. Basking in each other’s company brought them peace of mind, and whispered words of love, against wet skin carried them through the harshest times of the day. Tears were masked by water and steam from the bath, but were wiped away nonetheless. They made use of the fluffy towels Kakashi had laid out for them, and then made their way to their shared bed, falling together into a pile of cuddly limbs and loving embraces. They had each other, for the moment, holding and kissing each other’s broken parts.

Before falling asleep in each other’s arms, they each sent up a prayer to their own Ghosts, thanking them for the time they were given with the ones they loved. That morning Kakashi had woken up in a dim world, but love had brought color back to him by the end of the night, and he was determined to keep it that way, if not for himself, then for all of the people he had lost that were waiting to hear his own story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing the first part of this piece on Memorial Day, when I was feeling down and remembering people that I’ve lost. Wars of the mind are just as real as those on the battlefield. A lot of the scars in your mind are just easier to hide. After talking to my wonderful friend and waifu EternalSurvivor on discord, I was able to move in another direction instead of never finishing this part of the story. I didn’t know it was going to be part of the timeline I’ve started writing for KakaIruTenz, but I really love that it turned out that way. I hope everyone enjoys reading it ^^ Hopefully I can write more for them in the future <3

**Author's Note:**

> I had been trying to figure out something new to write, with a big compilation of different prompts to kind of form one big story. But suddenly I got the idea of writing this OT3 that had Iruka as a Hunter nin, because I just really love the idea that he is more than what it seems on the outside of his main story. It kind of became a roller coaster of feels for me, and I can honestly say that I only had a vague idea of where I was going with this story the whole time I wrote it haha. The ending was a bit rough, and I’m still not exactly happy with it, but I hope you can see past that, and maybe if ideas come, I can tweak it in the future. Thank you for reading, and know that any comments or kudos left, are very loved and appreciated! <3


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